The present invention relates to electrical power distribution, and more particularly, to locally distributing direct current (DC) power.
The evolution of digital electronics brings more miniature and low power electronic devices, such as tablets, cellular phones, and/or digital cameras, to daily use. Most of these miniature and low power electronic devices, hereinafter also referred to as “DC devices,” use DC power for their internal components, such as integrated circuits (IC), to operate. DC devices need external power adaptors, such as a cellular phone charger, to convert 120V or 240V alternating current (AC) power to 5V DC power, in order to charge and/or power the DC devices from the AC power distribution system in the building. As the number of different miniature and low power electronic devices increase, the more the number of different power adaptors are needed.
Each generation of DC device often provide their own different companion power adaptor. One drawback with the use of power adaptors is that old power adaptors used by older generation devices are frequently discarded when newer generation devices are brought into use, which generates considerable electronic waste. Further, the power conversion efficiency of power adaptors may be low for low cost DC devices and leads to wasted energy.
Accordingly, there is a need to reduce the use of AC to DC power adapters for DC devices to reduce electronic waste and wasted energy.